In the Polish town of Kozhukhiv, on the premises of a hostel, a group of Poles attacked two men and a woman from Ukraine, according to inPoland. The altercation broke out over music coming from a car. One of the attackers shouted «Go back to Ukraine», and then called over his accomplices. The three victims suffered lacerations and head injuries; two required stitches. The police are searching for the attackers.
Briefly about the main points
- The attack took place on the premises of a hostel in Kozuchów, Poland.
- Two men and a woman from Ukraine were injured.
- The conflict began because of the music coming from the car.
- Two of the injured received stitches for head injuries.
- The police are searching for those involved in the attack.
The argument escalated into an assault
According to inPoland, the altercation began because of music playing from a car. One of the attackers shouted at the Ukrainians, «Go back to Ukraine», and then called the others over.
The victims suffered lacerations and head injuries. Two of them required stitches. The police are searching for the attackers.
The national motive will be investigated as part of the case
Remarks regarding the victims’ origins may suggest a possible motive based on prejudice; however, the legal classification of the incident will be determined by the investigation and the prosecution, taking all the evidence into account. The Polish police classify such acts as those in which the victim is targeted on the basis of their actual or perceived nationality, ethnic origin or language.
According to the Polish National Police Headquarters, between January and June 2026, the police received 180 reports of suspected crimes motivated by hate directed against Ukrainian citizens. This is more than 30% higher than the figure for the same period in 2025. Since May, the police have been recording such cases separately in their statistics and have appointed officers responsible for this area within local units.
These figures reflect the number of complaints, not crimes proven in court. At the same time, they indicate an increase in the number of reported incidents relating to possible prejudice against Ukrainians.
The Polish authorities’ response to the rise in incidents
Polish Minister of the Interior and Administration Marcin Kerwinski, commenting on the rise in such incidents in July, declared a policy of «zero tolerance» and the need for a firm police response to hate crimes.
Ukrainian activist Natalia Panchenko Following another high-profile incident, Stand With Ukraine called for specific perpetrators to be held to account, without generalising their actions to all Poles. Representative surveys show that attitudes towards Ukrainians in Poland are polarised, rather than uniformly hostile.
